Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa both produced very strong drives at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit to keep very much in the hunt for both championship titles. The Spaniard went from sixth on the grid to second on the podium, while the Brazilian battled all the way from sixteenth at the start to eighth, with both men pulling off an endless series of overtaking moves. The 22 points they brought back home today sees the Scuderia maintain second place in the Constructors’ classification and Fernando jump back up to second in the Drivers’. Felipe is still fifth place. However, championship leaders Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull produced a dominant performance for both driver and team to take their first ever Canadian victory. Completing the podium trio was Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes.
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It is ironic that while the streets of the Principality are swarming with beautiful Ferrari GT cars all week long, come Sunday, the single-seaters from the same factory seem to struggle to perform on the Monegasque street circuit. Fernando Alonso had a difficult time of it this afternoon to at least bring home a few precious points for seventh place, while Felipe Massa appeared to have a very similar accident to the one he had on Saturday morning and had to retire, fortunately without nothing worse than a stiff neck. As is often the case at this race, it was won by the man who started from pole, Nico Rosberg in his Mercedes. Joining him on the dais outside the Royal Box was the Red Bull duo of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. Alonso is still third in the Drivers’ classification, while Massa drops from fifth to seventh. In the Constructors’ table, Scuderia Ferrari remains second behind Red Bull, but the gap has grown from 14 to 41 points.
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The Spanish crowd got what they wanted today at the Catalunya circuit, as Fernando Alonso drove brilliantly to secure his first win here in Barcelona since 2006. Adding to the delight in the Prancing Horse garage, Felipe Massa made sure that two Ferrari drivers were on the podium for the first time this season with a fantastic drive from a grid-penalised ninth place to third at the end of the 66 laps. Splitting the two men in red was the Flying Finn, Kimi Raikkonen. The result means the Scuderia overtakes Lotus to go second in the Constructors’ championship, 14 points behind Red Bull. Today’s winner moves up one place to third in the Drivers’ classification, while his team-mate overtakes Webber to go from sixth to fifth.
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After winning in China just one week ago, and a grid here in Bahrain that featured an all-Ferrari second row, to finish the fourth round of the world championship taking home just 4 points courtesy of Fernando Alonso finishing eighth, is as surprising as it is disappointing for Scuderia Ferrari. Felipe Massa took the flag, out of the points zone in fifteenth place. Luck certainly wasn’t on the Brazilian’s side as he was involved in a collision at the start and then twice had tyre troubles in the course of the 57 lap race. As for Fernando, a problem with the DRS could not be fixed at the first pit stops and he had to drive almost the entire race without this device, which is so vital to overtaking. Sebastian Vettel became the first driver to win two races this season. On the podium, the Red Bull man was flanked by the two Lotus drivers, Kimi Raikkonen second and Romain Grosjean third. Today’s result means that while the Prancing Horse is still third in the Constructors’ standings, on 77 points, the gap to Lotus, now on 93 and Red Bull, 109, has grown.

For racing fans who don’t have an allegiance to any particular team, the Bahrain Grand Prix was another thrilling motor race, once again partly down to different tyre strategies. Three stops looked like being the most obvious choice, but some cars that had seen less degradation and wear over the first two days of the Bahraini weekend were prepared to gamble on just two.
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